So, LOTS of mechanical work has been going on but not a lot of writing! It’s almost been like a game of whack a mole! They say this about vintage cars and Vanagons. Some of it is self induced, others may be a by product of my “outstanding workmanship”, and the last my be that “it’s just that time” to have that specific part break down.

Case in point, I’ve gotten done with the coolant line upgrades (which it now runs a consistent 196 – 202 degrees) and shock upgrade. However, it appears that while it sat (or maybe I wasn’t looking or paying attention), the brake fluid went down. So, when I was all excited to go do test runs to see how my work performed, it felt like the brakes were a bit squishy! Right away I checked the obvious and found out. No biggie! Right?

Well, right after that, the clutch started to feel like it was slipping and I developed this “thump” in the rear. It was almost as though a bulge in the tire or something that as I drove faster it thumped faster. So, I haven’t driven it much due to these two factors. I don’t want to burn out the transmission or make the problem worse!

However, I did get some videos of driving over my phone while filming the undercarriage. I wanted to post those so people MUCH more mechanically smarter than myself could view! So, here’s the few of them!